News

Back in September, it was announced that Evan Peters (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), Anthony Ramos (Twisters), Ashton Kutcher (That ’70s Show), and Jeremy Pope (Hollywood) are on board to star in The Beauty, the latest show that American Horror Story and Monster co-creator Ryan Murphy has in the works at FX. Now, Variety has broken the news that Rebecca Hall of Godzilla x Kong: New Empire has also joined the cast.

Filming on The Beauty is already underway. FX has given the show an 11 episode order. While the series is based on the Image Comics series of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, plot and character details are being kept under wraps. So for now, we can only go by the description of the comic book series to get an idea of what the show is going to be like: Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty.

While the vampire Selene is often Underworlds main protagonist, Michael Sheens Lucian is a compelling and formidable character who is severely underrated. In the dark urban fantasy franchise, which pits vampires against werewolves, Sheen appeared in Underworld (2003) and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009). Despite their thrilling high-octane fight sequences and impressive special effects, neither movie was a hit with critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, Underworld holds a score of 31%, with Rise of the Lycans at 30%. Even so, Sheen has never been accused of phoning in a performance, and his portrayal of Lucian is no exception.

Sheens TV and film career has given him an eclectic variety of roles to work with. His performances in acclaimed films such as The Queen and Frost/Nixon were lauded by critics, as was his role as Dr. William Masters in the TV series Masters of Sex. In recent years, many know him as the angel Aziraphale from Good Omens,...

Well, if you’re reading this, it means that you’ve survived yet another presidential election.

You might be thrilled with last night’s results, or you might be banging your head against a wall, wondering how you’re gonna survive the next four years.

Either way, at least we can all take solace in the fact that the quadrennial barrage of panhandling text messages has now come to an end.

(Dreamworks Pictures/20th Century Fox)

And now that you can once again turn on your TV without being bombarded by mudslinging political ads, what better time to revisit some of the best presidential biopics?

Politicians and pollsters might tell you they know what the future holds, but that picture is always a murky one.

Thankfully, we can always look to America’s past for encouraging reminders of challenges we’ve overcome and the heroes who have risen to the occasion.

Hollywood has been borderline obsessed with Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal for over half a century. Plenty of presidents or watershed legislative decisions have gotten adaptations, but given the recency of his crimes, Nixon is on another level. There have been 24 feature films centered on Nixon and/or Watergate, and that's not including the recent influx of prestige miniseries like 2023's "The White House Plumbers" about Nixon's political saboteurs, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy or 2022's "Gaslit," the Julia Roberts-starring series about Martha Mitchell, the wife of Nixon's at-the-time United States Attorney General.

I was born in 1990, which means my understanding of Nixon until, say, my junior year of high school, was what I had absorbed from pop culture. My introduction to Nixon's resignation speech was when it played over the radio in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and I learned about all of his specific...

Gold Derby recently conducted a poll asking our readers to name their dream Oscar host for the upcoming 2025 ceremony, and the winner is — drumroll, please — Hugh Jackman! The Australian performer is having a banner year thanks to his movie “Deadpool and Wolverine” dominating the box office, and longtime Oscar viewers still fondly remember when he hosted the 2009 ceremony to great acclaim (watch a clip below).

As it turns out, Jackman is very much “in the mix” to serve as this year’s host alongside his superhero counterpart Ryan Reynolds. As our sister site Deadline reports, “The plan we hear would be to include them as part of a star ensemble of rotating hosts, each — or in pairs — doing a portion of the show, per a plan to shake things up.”

Jackman is a former Best Actor Oscar nominee for playing Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables” (2012), and this year he’s...

Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey, Makenzie Leigh, Lewis Pullman, and Jordan Preston Carter in ‘Salem’s Lot’ (Photo by Courtesy of New Line Cinema/Max)

Max’s October 2024 lineup includes a new adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling vampire novel Salem’s Lot and the premiere of the eight-episode comedy series The Franchise starring Himesh Patel. Jordin Sparks hosts and Johnny Weir and Terrell Ferguson judge the new competition series Roller Jam debuting on October 10th. And Dylan O’Brien stars in Caddo Lake, a mystery thriller premiering on October 10th.

The streamer’s October calendar of new series and films also includes the documentaries I Am Not A Monster: The Lois Riess Murders, Louder: The Soundtrack of Change, and Breath of Fire. Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap starring Josh Hartnett makes its streaming premiere on October 25th, and Maxxxine with Mia Goth debuts on October 18th.

The third and final...

Sometimes you see a name attached to a project and you just say "How?" Frank Langella is one of those names when it comes to Star Trek. The man's been everywhere and done everything. Excelling as a theater actor, Langella spun out of the theater and started doing major budget films like the 1979 remake of Dracula, the 1998 cult classic Small Soldiers, and more modern films like Frost/Nixon.

He's also the first man to portray Skeletor on the big screen, so the man has range. Yet, for a short spell in 1993, Langella played the Bajoran politician, Jaro Essa. A key figure during the first half of the season. It was a big get for the show, as the man had already won a Tony, an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award. Not bad for a show that was airing on syndication.

It was a nice little three-episode run and a sign...

Jude Law doesn’t want to take all the credit.

He delivers one of the many go-for-broke performances in Ron Howard’s star-studded “Eden,” a stranger-than-fiction survival thriller about European settlers who seek new life on a previously uninhabited island in the Galápagos. As the official logline explains, “They believe they’ve found paradise — only to discover that hell is other people.” And yes, it’s actually based on true events.

Though his character of Friedrich Ritter, a doctor living in total isolation with his wife (Vanessa Kirby) before all these other people show up, goes completely nude in one scene of the film, Law insisted he wasn’t the only actor on set to take a creative leap of faith.

“We all had to be audacious,” Law said at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of “Eden” during a post-screening Q&a after moderator Cameron Bailey suggested that playing Ritter...

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman, who shared the screen in the acclaimed 2012 Musical Les Misérables, initially met when the latter took on the hosting duties at the Academy Awards in 2009. Hathaway joined him on stage to present the Best Picture nomination for the 2008 film Frost/Nixon with a musical number.

Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway at the 81st Academy Awards | Credit: Oscars

The performance received enthusiastic applause from the audience, which gave her the confidence to take on the hosting duties of the grand ceremony in 2011. However, as things didn’t turn out as great as Jackman’s, Hathaway blamed him for setting her up for disappointment.

Anne Hathaway Blames Hugh Jackman for Her Disappointing 2011 Oscars Hosting

During a conversation with Hugh Jackman on Variety‘s Actors on Actors, The Intern star reminisced about the fun she had performing with him in 2009, which made her eager to accept the hosting gig for the 83rd Academy Awards.

Peter Morgan is a playwright, screenwriter and TV series creator and showrunner who has been described by The Guardian as “Britain’s leading contemporary screen dramatist,” and about whom the publication wrote, “There is no one who works quite like him. Actually, there might be nobody who has worked quite like him in British drama since Shakespeare. He specializes in taking the lives of public figures, mingling the events and words of their lives with his own imaginings, and recasting it as drama that is as close to documentary as possible without actually being a docudrama.”

Morgan wrote the theatrical productions Frost/Nixon, which was on the West End in 2006 and Broadway in 2007; The Audience, which was on the West End in 2013 and Broadway in 2015; and Patriots, which was on the West End in 2023 and Broadway in 2024. He was also the screenwriter of TV films including 2003’s The Deal, 2006’s Longford...

August 9

Q: On this day exactly 50 years ago, August 9 1974, Richard Nixon became the first and only President to resign his office. Nixon also significantly brought Best Actor nominations to two actors who played him on screen. Who are they?

A: Anthony Hopkins was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for 1995’s Nixon. Frank Langella was nominated in the same category for 2008’s Frost/Nixon. Langella had previously won a Tony Award for the play on which that movie was based. Only one actor has ever won a Best Actor Oscar for playing a real life U.S. President. Daniel Day Lewis took his third Lead Actor Academy Award in 2012’s Lincoln. Raymond Massey was also previously nominated as Lincoln for Best Actor in 1940’s Abe Lincoln In Illinois. Nixon and Lincoln are the only real life U.S. Presidents to be responsible for multiple Oscar nominations for those who played them.

The 1980s are often viewed as a pop cultural wasteland: a post-disco, style-over-substance hellscape where music videos turned vacuous bands and singers into chart-topping titans, blockbuster-chasing executives drained films of personality and artistic merit, and television pandered to a benumbed viewership with hacky sitcoms, formula dramas, and risible nighttime soaps. This was only half-true.

There was a good bit of dreck polluting the multiplexes and the airwaves throughout the eight-year Reagan era (and the Bush I hangover), but you'd have to be a killjoy to have lived through that time and turned up your nose at the bevy of brilliant artists who were working at their absolute peak. Prince, Spielberg, Streep, Selleck ... yes, Selleck. Tom Selleck.

For eight immensely entertaining seasons, Tom Selleck was the handsomest, charmingest, mustachioed-est private detective on television as Magnum P.I. The creation of small-screen hit makers Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, the...

Matthew Macfadyen reflects on his role as Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, feeling miscast but happy about the recognition it brings. Despite mixed feelings, Macfadyen's role in the film was pivotal in his career, leading to a role in Succession. Macfadyen will soon appear in the MCU movie Deadpool & Wolverine.

Pride & Prejudice star Matthew Macfadyen reflects on his role in the film two decades later. Macfadyen played the male lead, Mr. Darcy, in the 2005 Jane Austen adaptation. Mr. Darcy is one of the most iconic love interests in literature, pulling at the heart strings of those who root for his romance with the lower-class woman, Elizabeth Bennett. Playing the role of Elizabeth was Keira Knightley, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Pride & Prejudice. Joining Macfadyen and Knightley in the cast were Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Brenda Blethyn, and Carey Mulligan.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire follows the previous movie's high-stakes conflict with a talented cast, including new additions like Dan Stevens. The sequel is available on Apple TV+ and Amazon, with returning actors like Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, and Brian Tyree Henry. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire features new characters and a central protagonist, Trapper, played by Dan Stevens, a titan veterinarian.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the long-awaited follow-up to 2021s Godzilla vs. Kong, and the sequel's cast includes some new additions alongside returning actors. Godzilla vs. Kong saw its titular creatures battle against each other in a high-stakes conflict that put the fate of the planet at risk. Like the rest of the movies in the Monsterverse franchise, it was also a blockbuster action spectacle due in part to the great work of an excellent cast. Many of these stars returned for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,...

Olivia Colman joins The Bear season 3 as Chef Terry, expanding her role in season 4. Colman's performance in The Bear is critically acclaimed, potentially earning her Emmy nominations. The Bear serves as a successful replacement for The Crown, showcasing Colman's versatility.

Olivia Colman's latest appearance in a critically acclaimed television series could be her replacement for The Crown. Colman starred as Queen Elizabeth II in seasons 3 and 4 of The Crown before appearing once more in The Crown's series finale in 2023. Colman was one of the many outstanding actors in The Crown, which won an impressive 21 Emmy Awards during its six-season run. The Crown was created by Peter Morgan, the acclaimed writer of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Rush (2013), Frost/Nixon (2008), and The Queen (2006).

Colman is an Oscar, Emmy, and BAFTA-winning actress celebrated for her roles in Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite (2018), The Lost Daughter (2021), and The Father (2020). She gained prominence from starring in the very...

Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are exploring a sale of their Imagine Entertainment, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Imagine has reportedly hired investment bank Jp Morgan to strategise. According to other reports, Imagine made the move after receiving acquisition or merger offers.

Imagine representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

In 2016 Imagine attracted a reported investment of $100m from US merchant bank The Raine Group. In 2022 the company was involved in talks with UK investment firm Centricus Asset Management about what was reported at the time as a $700m deal, though the talks came to nothing after six months of negotiation.

Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are exploring a sale of their Imagine Entertainment, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal said Imagine has hired investment bank Jp Morgan to strategise. According to other reports, Imagine made the move after receiving acquisition or merger offers. Imagine representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

In 2016 Imagine attracted a reported investment of $100m from US merchant bank The Raine Group. In 2022 the company was involved in talks with UK investment firm Centricus Asset Management about what was reported at the time as a $700m deal, though the talks...

Sky has announced a slate of four upcoming documentaries, including a film on social media star-turned criminal defendant Andrew Tate, and a series that leverages the archives of David Frost, one of television’s greatest interviewers.

Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate & The Dark Side of the Internet examines the former kickboxer who styles himself online as the “king of toxic masculinity.” He and his brother Tristan face allegations of human trafficking in Romania, in additional to potential sexual misconduct charges in the U.K.

“Andrew Tate’s meteoric rise to infamy has provoked global uproar,” notes a release from Sky, “but the controversial figure is also a terrifying symptom of the increasingly fractured world in which we live, propelled by the social media platforms beneath our fingertips.

Andrew Tate

“Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate & The Dark Side of the Internet goes beyond the headlines to explore how and why someone with such...

Fans of the AppleTV+ series Hijack have been forced to endure a long wait for the second season of the popular thriller.

The bad news is that they'll need to wait at least a few more months, as filming for Hijack Season 2 is currently underway in the UK.

The good news is that star Idris Elba will be joined by a top-tier supporting cast when the show eventually makes its way back to our screens.

Deadline reported today that three very talented stars are currently on set in London.

First off is Toby Jones, a British actor, who might he might be best known for his work in American period pieces, such as Frost/Nixon, My Week With Marilyn, and Infamous (in which he memorably portrayed Truman Capote).

While he's gained a reputation as an esteemed "actor's actor," Jones is no stranger to the world of action and green screens.

Related:...

It’s fitting that Ron Howard’s documentary “Jim Henson Idea Man” gets its name from the man himself. During an early bit of voiceover, we hear the “Sesame Street” and “Muppets” creator describe his take on just what it is he does: Idea man. Nothing more, nothing less.

As the film winds on, others are more lofty in their estimations. Henson was a “man with a purpose,” a superhuman, someone for whom terms like “incredibly productive” can’t do justice. He “wanted to do more than was humanly possible,” one of Henson’s adult children tells us. Howard’s film reminds us how true that was during Henson’s lifetime and into his continuing legacy.

Henson was a puppeteer and creator of everything from The Muppets to “Fraggle Rock,” an animator and actor, a TV genius (Henson’s fingerprints are still on every element of “Sesame Street”), and a filmmaker.

Rush

Rush, 10pm, BBC2, Monday, May 6

The story of the rivalry between F1 aces James Hunt and Niki Lauda is given a glossy big screen retelling in Ron Howard's film. Written by Peter Morgan, it's no surprise that the writer of Frost/Nixon and The Queen puts psychology to the fore and amps up the win-at-any-costs mentality of Lauda, in particular - something that led the driver to have a horrific accident. Howard's action on the racing circuit does the job but it's Lauda's battle back from the accident that really holds the interest and Daniel Bruhl, who can be a bit hit and miss in terms of performances, is on the top of his game as the driven Austrian. Chris Hemsworth puts in a solid supporting performance, although he mainly leans into the established playboy image of the English sportsman.

Gone Girl, 10.07pm, Monday, May 6, Great Movies (Freeview...

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the fresh film that brings together the two most legendary gigantic monsters of cinema: Godzilla and Kong, reunited once more after the success of the first installment in 2021. This time around, the movie is directed by Adam Wingard and features performances by Rebecca Hall, Kaylee Hottle, and Dan Stevens.

It premieres from March 25 and will reach the United States this coming Friday, 29th, for the enjoyment of all fans of epic… destruction.

Enjoy!

Plot Summary

Following their fierce face-off, Godzilla and Kong are compelled to unite once again to confront an immense and hidden danger lurking within our world. This new peril not only threatens their tenability, but also puts the very survival of humankind at risk.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Official Movie Trailer The Cast Rebecca Hall Rebecca Hall

Rebecca Hall is a British-American actress known for her versatile acting skills and captivating performances.

MacFadyen shines in romantic period dramas, carving a niche in sensitive male roles from youth. His portrayal as Tom in Succession elevated his U.S. presence and may define his legacy. MacFadyen's performances in Frost/Nixon, Wuthering Heights, and Little Dorrit showcase his diverse talent.

The British actor Matthew MacFadyen has made a name for himself in television shows and movies alike, but only certain performances are highlighted as his best. Similarly to many other actors from the U.K., MacFadyen has a background in theater, which has greatly influenced the way he performs his on-screen characters. Many of MacFadyen's early roles include stints in period romance films and TV shows based on classic works of literature, which stand out as examples of his typecast in his youth.

However, it's clear after the prevalence of Succession and the many accolades he received for his performance, MacFadyen has many more years of excellent work ahead of him.

Exclusive: Imagine Entertainment has hired Jeb Brody to be President of Imagine Features. Brody had most recently been President of Amblin Partners, which was downsized by Steven Spielberg. Imagine founders Brian Grazer and Ron Howard are bringing Brody aboard to lean more heavily into feature films.

Karen Lunder, who ran the division and produced the films Thirteen Lives and the upcoming release Eden, is becoming a fulltime producer for Imagine, where she will work on a slate of high-priority projects.

Brody will oversee the Features development team which includes SVP Film Allan Mandelbaum, and Joyce Choi. As part of this expansion, Choi has been promoted to Director of Development.

Brody is a well regarded exec and producer who has experience in films large and small, from the Sundance hit Little Miss Sunshine to the studio franchise Fifty Shades of Grey and the Sam Mendes-directed 1917. Brody came to Amblin from Secret Hideout,...

Sometimes it feels like Ron Howard has been around forever. The actor/director, who was born on March 1, 1954, has been a star in TV and movies for over 65 years. From his early days playing Andy Griffith‘s son Opie on “The Andy Griffith Show” to his directing of the latest “Star Wars” story, “Solo,” the unassuming Howard still finds himself the center of attention.

Now primarily known as a director, Howard has won two Academy Awards — for producing and directing 2001’s Best Picture winner “A Beautiful Mind” starring Russell Crowe — and has two more nominations to his credit for producing and directing 2008 nominee “Frost/Nixon” starring Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.

Let’s take a photo gallery tour of his 17 greatest feature films, ranked from worst to best. Keep in mind that our gallery strictly focuses on his directing career and leaves out his terrific work as an actor in movies.

Exclusive: Michael Sheen, Adam Curtis and James Graham’s BBC drama The Way has been gestating for almost a decade but, for Good Omens star Sheen, the wait has been a necessary one.

As the BBC prepares to launch the drama set in Sheen’s hometown of Port Talbot, he told Deadline the pandemic and other recent events played an important role in shaping the script and believability of the three-part series, which is one of the broadcaster’s most anticipated of the year, bringing together three of the nation’s supreme creative talents.

Starring Sheen, who is making his directorial debut, Luke Evans (The Hobbit), Callum Scott Howells (It’s a Sin) and a wealth of talented Welsh actors, The Way tells the story of an ordinary family caught up in an extraordinary chain of events that ripple out from their home town. Driven by celebrated documentary maker Curtis, the...

Peter Morgan’s play Patriots, the drama about the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s fall, will transfer from a celebrated London run to Broadway this spring, with previews beginning April 1 at the Barrymore Theatre ahead of a reported April 22 opening.

The limited engagement will run through June 23.

The play, produced by Sonia Friedman with Rupert Goold directing, will star Will Keen, reprising his Olivier-winning performance as Vladimir Putin, with Luke Thallon, also a West End cast member, playing Roman Abramovich. Michael Stuhlbarg will portray Boris Berezovsky, with additional casting to be announced.

Official synopsis: In 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the new Russia belongs to its oligarchs – and no one is more powerful than billionaire Boris Berezovsky. When an eventual successor to President Boris Yeltsin is needed, Berezovsky turns to the little-known deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin. But soon Putin’s ruthless rise threatens Berezovsky’s reign,...

Frank Langella played Jaro Essa in DS9, but never took credit because it was a gift to his kids and not for money or exposure. Langella's decision to not be credited for his role in DS9 was explained by director Winrich Kolbe in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. Langella's other link to Star Trek includes being in a relationship with Whoopi Goldberg, who also appeared in the franchise.

A major Hollywood star played an uncredited role in three episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and there's a touching reason why he never took the credit. DS9 season 2 opened with an ambitious three-part epic which tackled the political and religious upheaval on Bajor. At the heart of a fundamentalist plot to oust the Federation from Bajor was the scheming politician, Jaro Essa (Frank Langella). Jaro Essa was played by stage and screen star Frank Langella, who would later...

Bryce Dallas Howard's breakout role was in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, which divided audiences with its unusual storytelling style. Howard's most recognizable role is as Claire Dearing in Jurassic World, which became the eighth highest-grossing movie of all time. Her best movie is considered to be Rocketman, a biopic about Elton John, featuring entertaining performances and songs from the iconic singer.

Bryce Dallas Howard has acted in several major franchise movies and worked with many prominent directors throughout her acting career. She is the daughter of famous film director Ron Howard, who has made movies such as Appolo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Frost/Nixon (2008), and Rush (2013). Born in Los Angeles, Bryce Dallas Howard attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is also an accomplished director, having directed three episodes of The Mandalorian.

Howard has also appeared in prominent roles in television series such as Black Mirror,...

“The Bear” cooked up a storm for its freshman season at the Emmy Awards, gaining a total of 13 nominations across the board with bids in acting, writing, directing, editing, casting, sound and of course Best Comedy Series. Having debuted way early in the Emmy eligibility period, it has sustained its buzz throughout the year with various award wins at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Writers Guild of America and Producers Guild of America. Included as part of their showcase is Oliver Platt for Best Comedy Guest Actor for his performance as Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski, his fifth nomination overall. Can he finally win an Emmy?

This is Platt’s first Emmy bid in a comedy category, having previously been mentioned for three dramas: “The West Wing” in 2001 and “Nip/Tuck” in 2008 for Best Drama Guest Actor, and “Huff” from 2005-2006 for Best Drama Supporting Actor. Other credits he has had in...

Amazon is making a limited series about Prince Andrew’s disastrous interview with Newsnight journalist Emily Maitlis, Variety has learned.

Production is underway in the U.K. on the three-part series, titled “A Very Royal Scandal.” Michael Sheen will star as Prince Andrew, while Ruth Wilson will play Maitlis.

According to the official description, the series will follow “Emily Maitlis’ professional and personal journey as a Newsnight journalist, leading up to her acclaimed interview with Prince Andrew.”

Along with Sheen and Wilson, the series will star Joanna Scanlan as Amanda Thirsk, Alex Jennings (“Your Christmas or Mine?”) as Sir Edward Young, and Éanna Hardwicke (“The Sixth Commandment”) as Stewart Maclean.

The series follows on Amazon’s past successes with “A Very English Scandal” starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw and “A Very British Scandal” starring Claire Foy and Paul Bettany.

Jeremy Brock is writing “A Very Royal Scandal” with Julian Jarrold directing.

Try telling viewers of a certain age about the immense popularity of "The Andy Griffith Show" back in the day and you're likely to be met by blank stares, quite a number of follow-up questions, or both. Looking back, it may be surprising to realize that neither Andy Griffith nor the show itself garnered any major awards love throughout the eight seasons it was on the air, never resulted in much of any real merchandising profits during its run (which was a rarity at the time), and even met a somewhat ignominious end when Griffith was written out of the sitcom series and the entire production became rebranded as "Mayberry R.F.D."

In between those extremes, however, "The Andy Griffith Show" maintained its status as a consistent ratings juggernaut throughout each and every year and vaulted its cast to stardom. Buoyed by Griffith's "Aw shucks" small-town and square-jawed heroic appeal, an all-time classic opening theme song,...

London’s Maida Vale Studios has been sold to a partnership between Working Title co-chairmen Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner and composer Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steve Kofsky.

According to the partners, the plan is to keep the original façade of the building and “preserve the ethos of Maida Vale”. The building will remain as a studio space, with a multi-million pound refurbishment plan for its existing studios as well as a not-for-profit educational facility.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Maida Vale Studios was first bought by the BBC in 1933. Since then, it has seen the likes of David Bowie, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Dusty Springfield record in the building, and has become a home for the BBC Performing Group. It has also more recently welcomed the likes of Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Katy Perry and Sam Smith.

The sale of Maida Vale comes after...

Right on time, this week brings a companion documentary to one of summer’s biggest movies, directed by an acclaimed filmmaker whose pedigree makes him an immediate Oscar candidate — especially in a year that isn’t overflowing with breakout docs.

The contender to watch this week: “A Compassionate Spy”

On the heels of “Oppenheimer” comes a documentary about Ted Hall, an American physicist who gave the Soviet Union classified intelligence about the construction of the atomic bomb. “A Compassionate Spy” has deep pedigree in two-time Oscar-nominated director Steve James, who made “Hoop Dreams,” “Life Itself,” and “City So Real.” If the campaign gods are smart, they’ll put James and Christopher Nolan in a room together at some point, even though Hall isn’t depicted in “Oppenheimer.” “Spy” is now in theaters and on VOD.

Other contenders:

“Black Ice”: Hockey is Canada’s most popular sport, which of course...

With its list of new releases for August 2023, Prime Video is relying on a heaping dose of fun library movies.

The first of the month brings a big influx of worthwhile flicks, including Galaxy Quest, Saw, F9: The Fast Saga, and Jurassic Park (the last two via Amazon’s Freevee free streaming option). Then some other recents hits arrive later on like the appropriately titled Cocaine Bear on Aug. 15 and the Chris Pine-starring Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on Aug. 25.

August also sees the arrival of a major Amazon Original movie in the form of Red, White & Royal Blue. Based on a New York Times bestselling book, this LGBTQ romance follows a U.S. president’s son and a British prince. Over on the TV side of things, Prime Video subscribers can check out the Sigourney Weaver project The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart on Aug. 4 and Harlan Coben’s Shelter on Aug.

Our favorite angel and demon duo are back in “Good Omens” Season 2: All six episodes hit Prime Video streaming on July 28. This time around, the odd couple is tasked with helping hide Gabriel (Jon Hamm) from both sides of the celestial divide until he can regain his memory.

Here are the returning and new characters and what other projects you may have seen the cast in before.

(Prime Video)

David Tennant as Crowley

Tennant, best known as the 10th Doctor on “Doctor Who,” plays fallen angel Crowley, whose relationship with Aziraphale pre-dates the creation of humans. The stylish demon often finds himself afoul of both heaven and hell. The Scottish actor also starred in “Broadchurch” and Marvel’s “Jessica Jones.”

(Prime Video)

Michael Sheen as Aziraphale

The Welsh actor, whose films include “Underworld,” “Frost/Nixon” and “The Queen,” plays fussy angel Aziraphale. Unlike his fellow cherubim, he has developed a...

It’s been quite a year for Prime Video already. The service is seeing huge success with its second season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” and its international espionage thriller “Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan” turned in its fourth and final season earlier this summer.

Unfortunately for Tolkien fans, there’s no new season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to dive into this August, but there are some fantastic titles coming to Prime Video all throughout the month. From Prime Video originals to hot new movies, here are the top five titles The Streamable is most excited about on the service in August 2023.

30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com What Are the Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in August 2023? ‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart’ | Aug. 4

Alice Hart has to endure a tragedy no child should have to face, losing her parents...

The Good Omens season 2 cast is full of faces both old and new, taking Neil Gaiman's original story past its source material and into uncharted territory. The Amazon Prime series Good Omens is based on the eponymous novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and sees angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley live life on Earth as ambassadors of heaven and hell, respectively. The two strike up an unlikely friendship during their time on Earth, but the upcoming armageddon seeks to undo all of their hard work. Therefore, Aziraphale and Crowley band together to stop the coming of the antichrist so they can continue to enjoy their peaceful existence.

All of this was chronicled leading up to the Good Omens season 1 ending, but the show was such a breakout hit that audiences demanded a second installment, despite the events of the book playing out in full. Luckily, viewers saw their...

Angela Bassett didn’t quite do the thing and win the Academy Award this year, but she came mighty close. The iconic actress was nominated for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” for her powerful performance as Queen Ramonda, which was one of the star turns not only in the “Black Panther” sequel but in the entirety of the MCU. Bassett lost out to Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) but the fact that she was even nominated is something of a victory in and of itself. Her was the first acting bid the MCU has ever received — so Bassett is still very much a history-maker given the Oscars’ historically snobbish attitude towards superhero flicks.

But Bassett isn’t the only performer to wow audiences in an MCU movie — the franchise is actually littered with excellent performances that have been overlooked purely because they feature in superhero films. With that in mind,...

(Welcome to Did They Get It Right?, a series where we take a look at an Oscars category from yesteryear and examine whether the Academy's winner stands the test of time.)

It may seem impossible to fathom for many of us, but there are teenagers alive today who have never seen an Academy Awards where there were only five Best Picture nominees in a given year. The Academy decided on five nominees for the top category starting with the 17th ceremony back in 1945, and that number held all the way through to the 81st in 2009, where Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" emerged triumphant and won a total of eight awards.

Alongside the Best Picture winner, the final slate of five featured David Fincher's sole Best Picture nominee "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Ron Howard's stage-to-screen adaptation of "Frost/Nixon," Gus Van Sant's biopic "Milk," and Stephen Daldry's Nazi romance "The Reader.

Exclusive: Emily Hall (Lumina) and David Kelsey (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story) are set to star in Wrong Numbers, an indie drama marking the feature directorial debut of Duane Edwards, which will head into production in Chicago in early May.

The film’s events are set in motion by a disastrous blind date on the part of Emma (Hall) at an upscale Chicago restaurant. The beautiful twenty-something subsequently strikes up an essential conversation with Jack (Kelsey), a happily married, middle-aged and very successful businessman who is seated at another table, having just finished up a business dinner. Emma and Jack thereafter stumble into an intense one-night stand that turns into something more complicated and destructive than either of them could have expected.

Edwards will direct from a script by Frederick Mensch (HBO Films’ Nightingale), also co-producing along with producers Phil Lee, Darryl Manuel and David Kelsey and Heather Sederquist’s Big Wheel Entertainment.

Los Angeles, March 29 (Ians) ‘Succession’ star Matthew Macfadyen has been cast in ‘Deadpool 3’.

The Ryan Reynolds franchise will welcome Macfadyen, who plays the fan-favourite Tom Wambsgans on the HBO water-cooler smash, joining a new sequel that will also revive Hugh Jackman’s beloved X-Men character Wolverine, reports ‘Variety’.

Shawn Levy returns as director, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the script.

This will be the first ‘Deadpool’ project made since the intellectual property went to Disney in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox.

All creatives involved insist the film will retain its extreme violence and raunchy tone, as well a hard R-rating.

“It is such a blast to laugh every day. It is so delicious to hear and write and come up with these scenes where people are just talking foul. And the violence is in your face and hardcore, and it’s very much a ‘Deadpool’ movie,...

EntertainmentThe third film in the franchise, headlined by Ryan Reynolds, is also expected to revive Hugh Jackman's beloved ‘X-Men’ character Wolverine.Matthew Macfadyen in Succession / HBOMatthew Macfadyen, who stars in the popular American black comedy series Succession, has been cast in Deadpool 3. The Ryan Reynolds franchise will welcome Matthew, who plays the fan-favourite Tom Wambsgans on the HBO show, in a new sequel that will also revive Hugh Jackman's beloved X-Men character Wolverine, reports 'Variety'. Shawn Levy returns as director, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the script. This will be the first Deadpool project made since the intellectual property went to Disney in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. All creatives involved insist the film will retain its extreme violence and raunchy tone, as well a hard R-rating. “It is such a blast to laugh every day. It is so delicious to hear and...

The big bads of the Marvel Cinematic Universe should be a breeze for the man that’s survived the Roy family for almost four seasons, as “Succession” star Matthew Macfadyen has been cast in “Deadpool 3,” Variety has confirmed.

The Ryan Reynolds franchise will welcome Macfadyen, who plays the fan-favorite Tom Wambsgans on the HBO water-cooler smash, joining a new sequel that will also revive Hugh Jackman’s beloved X-Men character Wolverine. Shawn Levy returns as director, and Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick will pen the script. This will be the first “Deadpool” project made since the intellectual property went to Disney in its acquisition of 20th Century Fox. All creatives involved insist the film will retain its extreme violence and raunchy tone, as well a a hard R-rating.

“It is such a blast to laugh every day. It is so delicious to hear and write and come...

Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Pride & Predudice, Succession and Stonehouse.

Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Matthew Macfadyen was born on October 17, 1974 (Matthew Macfadyen: age 48) in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. His parents are Meinir and Martin Macfadyen, a drama teacher and an oil engineer respectively. He attended schools in England, Scotland and Indonesia before being accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London when he was 17. He finished his schooling in 1995 before taking to the British theatre.

Matthew MacFadyen Biography: Career

Macfadyen started his career on the stage with the company Cheek by Jowl where he had roles in The School for Scandal, Much Ado About Nothing and The Duchess of Malfi. He then went on to play roles in television, such as Hareton Earnshaw in a TV adaptation of Wuthering Heights (1998), Daniel Symon in Perfect Strangers (2001) and...

Peter J. Devlin — who started his career as an audio assistant at the BBC and went on to work on big action movies including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and smaller dramatic films such as Frost/Nixon — will accept the Cinema Audio Society’s Career Achievement Award. Devlin has worked on more than 70 films and received Oscar nominations for five of them, including Star Trek and Pearl Harbor. Last year, he became the first production sound mixer to be elected a governor of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Regarding working on the Black Panther series, Devlin says it was important to be involved early on, with collaborators including costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who “spent so much time with me, weeks ahead of the project, to go through all the different costumes and devise a plan as to how to get those mics on those actors.”

He remembers Chadwick Boseman with respect and warmth.

Kevin Bacon is more than a talented actor — he’s a pop culture icon. With a decades-long Hollywood career, Bacon is an entertainment industry mainstay. But he isn’t the only family member bitten by the acting bug. His 30-year-old daughter, Sosie Bacon, has also made a name for herself. Most recently, she appeared in one of 2022’s buzziest horror films, earning praise from critics and fans alike.

Sosie Bacon stars in the 2022 horror flick ‘Smile’ Sosie Bacon as Dr. Rose Cotter | Paramount Pictures

Smile made waves upon its late-September 2022 premiere. The film follows a therapist, Dr. Rose Cotter, who witnesses a bizarre suicide that rattles her to the core. In the ensuing days, Rose begins to exhibit strange behavior. It becomes so abnormal that family, friends, and associates wonder if something supernatural is at play.

Marketing for the film garnered Smile considerable attention. A nightmare-inducing trailer, creepy posters showing a terrifyingly broad smile,...

Steven Spielberg is “encouraged” that two blockbusters have finally earned Oscars recognition for Best Picture, but he thinks it’s a milestone that should’ve been hit “years ago” by The Dark Knight.

On Tuesday (24 January), the Academy revealed the nominees for this year’s Oscar awards, with blockbuster hits Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water among the 10 films vying for the top prize.

Recent Golden Globe winner, Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, is also in the Best Picture category. Find the full list of Oscar nominees here.

Following the announcement of the nominees, the award-winning director spoke with Deadline about his feelings towards seeing Joseph Kosinski’s and James Cameron’s breakthrough hits on the list.

“I’m really encouraged by that,” Spielberg said. “[But] it came late for the film that should have been nominated a number of years ago, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.

“That...

By amassing hundreds of film and TV credits over the past seven decades, James Hong has cemented himself as an indelible figure in the history of screen entertainment. Having just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last May, the 93-year-old is now reaping the benefits of taking on one of his most high-profile roles yet in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” His inclusion in the movie’s ensemble is expected to lead to his first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, which would make him the oldest film performer ever recognized by the organization.

Hong appears in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as Gong Gong, the irascible father of Michelle Yeoh’s lead character, Evelyn Wang. He, Yeoh, and Stephanie Hsu share a connection in that they have all voiced characters in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise. Also included among Hong’s potential fellow nominees for Best Film Ensemble are Ke Huy Quan,...

While Matt Smith plays an alluring uncle in “House of the Dragon,” Prince Harry just calls the actor “granddad.” No, but actually.

Smith, who previously starred as Prince Philip in the first two seasons of Netflix’s “The Crown,” revealed that he met Prince Harry once years prior at a polo match. “I met Harry once, at polo, which sounds a bit grand, but it wasn’t that grand,” Smith said during “The Today Show” (via Insider) on September 15. “And he walked up to me and went, ‘Granddad.'”

Smith added that Prince Harry shook his hand.

“He watched the show!” Smith continued. “Well, I can’t claim to know if he watches it currently, but he watched a bit of it then.”

“The Crown,” created by “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon” Oscar nominee Peter Morgan, charts Queen Elizabeth II’s life and legacy. Claire Foy portrayed the Queen opposite Smith...